In Year 1 we use continuous provision to ensure that the National Curriculum expectations are met. Learning will become progressively more structured as your child moves through the school. We are lucky enough to have access to an outdoor learning environment, which children are able to access daily. This allows for extra learning opportunities which we could not offer with just our indoor classroom, for example; a digging area for bug and plant investigations, large building equipment to create structures of their own design, a stage with instruments and dressing up clothes, larger PE equipment for outdoors games, climbing and cycling.

Every day, as soon as children come into class, we take part in whole class reading activities. We play word games, spelling activities, punctuation activities, using the sounds we are learning in phonics and also develop other useful basis skills. Sounds Write is taught for half an hour each day to practice reading and writing our new skills, applying what we've learnt to a variety of formal tasks. All year adults will build children's confidence to read and write well, encouraging them by engaging them to write about things they show an interest in. Alongside the formal work, time in Year 1 is spent developing essential speaking and listening skills. This is done through sharing of news from home, telling stories, listening to stories, acting out stories, describing characters, giving personal opinions, negotiating with peers and taking in part in regular drama work. In addition, during the year we get to delve into class topics, where children will be encouraged to develop their own questions and use our class research center to find out more.

In Maths we build knowledge of numbers & shapes from Reception, extending to numbers to 30, then 50. Children are continually learning how to apply maths skills to solve real-life problems they encounter in the classroom. We encourage the use lots of apparatus to support visually 'seeing' the problem and will learn to to record our work in different ways. Time is spent on recording digits in the correct order and with the correct formation. Maths in Year 1 is often completed with a partner, or in small group, working together to solve a communal problem.

In Year 1 children get introduced to the idea of talking about and reflecting upon what they have learnt and how this will help them in the future, a skill they will need further up the school. They become aware that good learners use a specific set of learning behaviours. 

Children are rewarded with tokens, stamps, stickers & certificates for impressive work or outstanding effort. At the end of every week, a pupil is chosen who has demonstrated/showed good effort in all areas of school life, or made a significant improvement on an area for development - they are our star of the week! They receive privileges and are monitors for important jobs for the following week.